The Inside Line Podcast - Vital MTB

Available Episodes

5 of 305

We Discuss YT
Discuss this with our community on Vital MTBWe’re back with The Inside Line, BS edition where we talk about the business and economic side of the mountain bike industry with Jeff Brines and Charlie Sponsel.Today is a discussion about YT Industries and the company’s recent turmoil of going through administration, shutting down and then re-opening just the other day. Because they went through the administration process, Jeff was able to pull out company information to analyze that we don’t usually get to see from bike brands.Please understand we’re not providing any financial advice, and as we’ve noted in the past, these topics may be a discussion of curiosity and interest to us, but real people have been impacted by everything we’re talking about. They may have lost jobs, they may be out thousands of dollars. At no point are we trying to make light of any of these situations. Additonally, we have no way of actually knowing the hearts or motivations of anyone involved in the topics we discuss, so we do our best to look at the data and report on stories we’ve heard regarding the situation.Topics Discussed0:00 - Intro1:22 - History of YT (note: Bentonville Mill was opened in 2024, not 2019)16:38 - Disclaimers19:27 - Restructuring/Bankruptcy Timeline26:55 - Markus Flossmann’s Instagram Q&A Replies30:44 - Is Markus a Sole Proprietor Now?32:46 - Difference Between Debt and Equity38:16 - YT’s Interesting Debt41:48 - Did Big Spending Catch Up with YT?47:09 - What About YT USA?53:39 - Did the Change to In-House Bike Assembly Crush YT?1:00:27 - How Will YT Have to Operate Now?1:06:11 - YT and Marketing - Turning Negative into Positive?1:09:39 - Will Markus Make Everyone Owed Money Whole?1:13:25 - Markus Flossmann and His Public Persona1:23:11 - Will Future Customers Actually Care About Any of This?1:25:42 - YT Future Hurdles1:33:07 - The Christopher Walken Jeffsy Video1:41:27 - Bike Culture vs. Tech Bro CultureThank you to FOX | Maxxis Tires | Jenson USA for supporting The Inside Line
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1:45:38
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1:45:38
Will Hard MTB League Change Things?
This Inside Line podcast explores how mountain biking's newest competitive event, Hard MTB League, has the potential to change the sport. Vital Content Director, Shawn Spomer, met up with Braydon Bringhurst and Adam Pishl, the two visionaries behind the League, two weeks after its inaugural invitational near Boise, Idaho. Topics include explaining what Hard MTB League is, reflecting on how the first event went, the challenges that were faced, the excitement of tight racing, how athletes are selected, what the future looks like, and most importantly, how community is being fostered through the series.If there are any questions or feedback about the Hard MTB League, Adam can be reached at [email protected] you to FOX | Maxxis Tires | Jenson USA for supporting The Inside Line
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1:09:11
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1:09:11
Dak Needs A Sealant Sponsor (And a Bike Sponsor) - B Practice Podcast - MSA Recap
MSA, what a way to end the season. Grueling and daunting, it's a track that other venues will forever be compared against. It feels wrong that this could be the last World Cup at Mont Sainte Anne for a long time (if not ever). At least the final send-off race was one to remember. For our crew, it was memorable because our guy Dak, against a lot of odds, slotted himself into 4th place less than a year after a life-altering injury. We couldn't be prouder. In this episode, we chat about Dak's program (or lack thereof) going into the off-season, Jackson doing Jackson things to take the overall title, the current rider pool being so deep, tire sealant tips, Rampage thoughts, and what type of content is even engaging these days. Thanks for listening and supporting the podcast this season!
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1:37:44
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1:37:44
You Can't Beat Racing At Home - Lake Placid World Cup Recap with Dak Norton and Dante Silva
The B Practice podcast returns! There was a lot of racing the past six weeks or so. Our main man Dak was busy globetrotting and facilitating one hell of a comeback. So we can't be too upset about his lack of availability. Thankfully, we sat down this week to chat about some DH racing and were joined by special guest Dante Silva. We kept the conversation laid-back per usual, breaking down the unpredictable track from Lake Placid, how Dante and Dak's weekends went, what winning the U.S. Open for the third time meant to Dak, Dante's switch from racing World Cups to being a US-only racer this season, and plenty of other topics. We hope you enjoy this episode, and thanks as always for tuning in!
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2:03:32
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2:03:32
Why Have So Many Bike Companies Closed in the Last Two Years?
Two years ago to the day, Vital member, contributor and finance specialist, Jeff Brines, posted a question in our forum, "Will more companies be shutting down in the next 12-24 months?" A small, but exciting mountain bike brand, Guerrilla Gravity, surprisingly announced it was closing, and the rest of the industry was in the wake of the Covid boom. It was a dynamic time with plenty of uncertainty ahead, so the question Jeff asked was very relevant and our community was engaged.Fast-forward to today and that forum thread has 414,000 views and over 3,100 replies as the Vital community has followed the topic every day for the last two years. At the request of the thread's participants, we honor the anniversary of the topic as Shawn Spomer, Vital Content Director and Charlie Sponsel, Vital contributor, catch up with Jeff to look back and reflect on the health of the bike industry today and to speculate what may happen going forward.THANK YOU to all Vital MTB members who have participated in this discussion. We're honored to have such a fantastic community of bike riders on our platform.The one-year anniversary podcast with Jeff can be found hereThank you to FOX | Maxxis Tires | Jenson USA for supporting The Inside Line
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2:03:26
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2:03:26